Five high-profile hacks of cryptocurrency exchangers

According to TheBlock’s research, 42 major cryptocurrency exchanges have been compromised since 2012. The total amount of stolen funds exceeded $1.35 billion.

Let us remember the most high-profile cybercrimes related to digital currency exchanges and learn how not to lose money in a case like this.

MT Gox

$460 million stolen

This hacker attack, uncovered in 2014, became the most high-profile. А huge amount of Bitcoin was withdrawing from the wallets of the exchange in small payments during three years. When it turned out that customers' money had disappeared from their accounts, the company filed for bankruptcy. The owners of the missing bitcoins filed claims for damages, but none were satisfied: the case has been dragging on.

Bittrex

$18 million stolen

The hackers gained little from this crime, but it became resonant. After the attack, malicious users took over more than half of the total hash of Bitcoin Gold. It allowed them to undermine the reputation of the token and bring its price down.

Bitfinex

$65 million stolen

The attack took place in August 2016. Despite the security system with triple verification, the hackers managed to get 120,000 BTC from the exchange accounts. As a result, the BTC rate was down 18%.

All Bitfinex users who have been affected received compensation; the exchanger continues to work.

Binance

$40 million stolen

The most secure and credible cryptocurrency exchange was hacked in August 2019. This case became a milestone: it confirmed the claim that any defense can be hacked. The crimes obtained user data using phishing sites for two months, created API keys for the accounts, and then used them to steal funds. Founders of the exchange said that all the losses will be covered with а Binance-controlled foundation.

Bithumb

$65 million stolen

This crypto crime was the most diversified: hackers have appropriated Bitcoins and also Ethereum, Ripple, EOS. The exchange was attacked three times, but it is not known if the same group of hackers is behind all the episodes. As a result, Bithumb was partly closed; nowadays, only 50% of lost funds have been returned to users.

Protect your funds!

For not to falling victim to hackers, do not keep your cryptocurrency on the exchange unnecessarily. If you bought bitcoins for a long-term investment, store your tokens in a cold wallet (an external device not connected to the Internet). And if you have given the money to trust, do not take to а manager all the control over the cryptocurrency but only the API key for account transactions.

And in this article, we wrote how to choose a trustworthy digital asset manager.